


I'd lie for you (and that's the truth)

by sarahcakes613



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, Honesty, Ice Cream, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, Soulmates, Teacher Rafael Barba, Uncle Sonny, animal facts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25654117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahcakes613/pseuds/sarahcakes613
Summary: It's impossible to lie to your soulmate, which can lead to some awkward first encounters.Sonny Carisi discovers this when he picks his niece up from school and meets her teacher, Rafael Barba.Bingo fill for "It's impossible to lie to your soulmate".
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 105
Collections: Barisi Soulmate Bingo





	I'd lie for you (and that's the truth)

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you're thinking. "But Sarahcakes, you don't even really like kidfic!" 🤷🏻 Idk what to say, buds. The idea from this came from a tweet exchange and it just sparked something. The heart wants what it wants.

“Hey uncle Sonny, guess what?”

Sonny meets his niece’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“What, bug?”

“Penguins have knees.”

He widens his eyes in surprise, his eyebrows going up in an exaggerated motion.

“You’re kiddin’ me!” He exclaims.

Rosie wriggles in her car seat. “No, they do! Mr. Barba told us.”

“Well, if Mr. Barba says it, it’s gotta be true, huh?”

He sees her nod in the mirror.

“Mommy says teachers can’t lie.”

“Everyone can lie, bug.” Sonny’s voice is soft. “But your mommy is right, if your teacher tells you something it’s probably true.”

“Mommy can’t lie to daddy.” Rosie says. “But she lied to you this morning.”

Stopped at a light, Sonny turns his head to look at her.

“Oh, really?”

She nods, oblivious to the trouble she is getting Bella Sullivan into. “She asked you to take me to school and pick me up today because she’s sick, but she’s not sick.”

She’d looked pretty miserable in her robe and slippers, Sonny thinks.

“She’s not, huh?”

“Nope.” Rosie shakes her head. “She’s gotta ‘nother baby in her tummy. She’s going to see the doctor today when daddy finishes work.”

This time Sonny’s surprise is entirely legitimate. He knows Bella’s probably been waiting til after her doctor’s appointment to tell everyone, but she hadn’t even hinted that they were thinking about trying for a second.

A car horn behind him alerts him to the changed light, and Sonny returns his focus to the road. Roisin’s school is close enough to the precinct that when Bella had called last night to ask him to do the school run today, it was an easy enough yes despite the last minute nature of the request.

Not to mention, he loves spending time with his niece, even if it’s just for a half hour in the car. He thinks about texting his sister, asking if he can take Rosie out for ice cream after school today. He’ll offer to bring her a pint of cookie dough, she’d eaten gallons of it when she was pregnant with Roisin.

“Hey uncle Sonny, you know what else Mr. Barba told us?”

“Not until you tell me.” He smiles at her in the mirror.

“Otters hold hands when they sleep.”

“Mr. Barba sounds like a pretty smart guy.”

“He’s the smartest!” Rosie throws her arms out wide to emphasise her statement.

When they get to her school, Sonny double parks outside, making sure his police decal is clearly displayed in the window. It’s not the classiest move, but he’s not above using his position where it matters, like finding parking in New York City.

They are greeted by a teacher’s aide, a young woman with natural curly hair and a big smile. Her name is Carmen, and she checks Sonny’s ID against the list on her clipboard. Sonny nods approvingly at her thoroughness as he scribbles his name on the sign-in sheet.

He kneels down to give his niece a hug before sending her into the building with Carmen.

“I’ll see you this afternoon,” He taps her Dora the Explorer watch. “When this line is on the 4 and this line is on the 6, that’s when I’ll be here. You be good for Mr. Barba, okay? I want to hear some more of those animal facts when I pick you up.”

She nods solemnly and throws her arms around his neck, squeezing.

He waves one last time before going back to his car. As he drives off, two moms in soccer vans gesticulate at him before honking at each other for the parking space he has vacated. He spares a moment to thank God and St. Michael that he’s no longer a beat cop who has to deal with parking violations.

His day passes in a blur of the worst of humanity, and it’s a relief when his phone buzzes at four pm, reminding him that he has somewhere he needs to be, the best of humanity embodied in three-and-a-half feet of bouncy red hair and blue eyes.

“I’m out, lieu.” He calls to his boss as he leaves, and she waves him off, her focus still on her computer.

This time he parks a few blocks away from the school. Bella’s given him the okay on an ice cream date, and there’s a good parlour just around the corner from Rosie’s preschool.

When he gets to the school, there’s a man standing at the door. He’s shorter than Sonny, but broader in the shoulders, with graying brown hair and thick rimmed glasses. He looks up at Sonny as he approaches, and scans Sonny slowly with his eyes.

“Name?” He asks.

“Sonny, Sonny Carisi. I’m here to pick up Roisin Sullivan.”

He hums as he skims his list and nods when he finds Sonny’s name.

“Wait here,” he directs, and goes inside. He returns within minutes, a chattering Roisin holding his hand.

“Uncle Sonny!” She shrieks, letting go of the man’s hand and launching herself at her uncle.

“Rosiebug!” He bends down, arms wide to gather her up in a hug.

“Uncle Sonny, this is Mr. Barba!” She tugs his hand, leading him back to her teacher.

“Ah, the man with the animal facts.” Sonny smiles at him, and Mr. Barba grins back at him.

“That’s me. Call me Rafael, please. And you’re the uncle who spends his day catching bad guys. Rosie talks about you all the time.”

Sonny rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, his cheeks heating up.

“Uncle Sonny, can Mr. Barba come get ice cream with us?”

“Aw, bug, I’m sure Mr. Barba has other things he needs to do.” Sonny looks at her teacher.

“Rosie’s the last pickup of the day, actually.” Rafael says. “And all I have waiting at home is two-day-old fried rice and six hours of Ace of Cakes on my DVR.”

As soon as the words are out, his mouth snaps shut in alarm.

Sonny looks at him curiously. “Well, you’re welcome to join us. It’s not far from here, we’re going to walk.”

Rafael pauses and then nods. “I’ll get my coat.”

While he’s gone, Rosie tugs on Sonny’s jacket.

“What’s up, bug?” He asks her.

“We learned more animal facts today. Did you know giraffes sleep standing up?”

He’s grimacing when Rafael returns.

“Are you okay?” He asks, noticing the face Sonny is making.

“Rosie was just telling me about giraffes.” Sonny says.

“Ah yes, they’re fascinating, aren’t they?”

Sonny grimaces again. “I’m terrified of giraffes. They’re so…tall. I don’t trust animals that are taller than me.” He stops, looking at Rafael in surprise. “Why am I telling you that?”

“Is it true?” Rafael asks him.

Sonny nods. “Yeah, but, I mean. It’s not something I go around telling people.” He chews on his lip, thinking. “Is it true that you have six hours of Ace of Cakes recorded?”

Rafael nods slowly. “The only person who knows I watch it is my mother.”

They stare at each other, the unspoken possible truth lingering between them like a slowly inflating helium balloon.

“We should – “

“Why don’t you – “

They both start speaking at the same time and then break off. Sonny laughs nervously.

“Sorry, you go ahead.”

Rafael shakes his head. “I was just going to suggest we ask each other a standard soulmate testing question.”

Standard soulmate testing questions are one of the quickest ways of confirming if you can lie to a person or not, and it’s a straightforward premise. One of them has to ask the other something they can both see the truth of, and the person being questioned must attempt to lie about it.

“Good idea,” Sonny agrees. “Let’s walk and talk, though?” He tilts his head, gesturing at Rosie, who is holding onto one of Sonny’s hands with both of her own and spinning herself around him, his arm wrapping around himself as she moves back and forth.

They head down the street, Rosie now between them. She reaches for her teacher’s hand and he smiles down at her, taking it in his own. They walk at an ambling pace, letting Rosie stop and exclaim at dogs and window displays. It feels domestic, in a weird possible-future way.

“What colour are your socks today?” Sonny asks, looking down at Rafael’s feet. He’s wearing scuffed white high-top shoes, but he can see a peek of bright purple.

“Purple, with black polka dots.” Rafael looks over at Sonny, his eyes wide. “I was going to tell you they were blue.”

They stop in front of the ice cream parlour and Rafael kneels down in front of Rosie.

“Hey Rosie, if I whisper a question in your ear, can you whisper the answer back to me?”

“I’m not s’pose to say secrets with adults.” Rosie looks up at Sonny, who nods.

“It’s okay, Mr. Barba isn’t going to ask you for a secret.”

She shrugs. “Okay.”

Rafael whispers into her ear and she giggles at whatever he’s asked. He motions for her to answer him. When he has her response he stands and looks at Sonny, a faint smirk on his lips.

“Awright, let’s hear it.” Sonny says, ready to answer something embarrassing, like what song he was singing in the car with Rosie this morning. Soulmate or no, he’s definitely going to lie about who really owns the Disco Divas compilation CD in his glove box.

“What did Santa bring you for Christmas last year?”

Sonny doesn’t even have to think about it, he knows what Rosie will have whispered in her teacher’s ear. The words are out of his mouth before he even has the chance to formulate a fiction.

“A macaroni necklace painted in the Mets colours.”

Rosie laughs, a high-pitched giggle. “I told you, Mr. Barba!”

Rafael laughs as well, but his is a low chuckle. “Yeah, you sure did. Thanks for helping me, Rosie.”

They finally walk into the ice cream parlour and Sonny inhales the cold warm vanilla scent that always seems to permeate this shop.

When they’re seated with their scoops, there is an awkward silence between them, a large soulmate-sized elephant seated at the table as well. Only Rosie is oblivious to it, chattering away while getting as much of her strawberry ice cream on her nose and shirt as in her mouth.

Sonny’s hand brushes Rafael’s as they both move in with napkins to wipe Rosie’s nose. It snaps, just a little, a brief crack of static electricity passing between them, and Rafael draws his hand back.

“I used to be a lawyer; you know.” Rafael comments.

Sonny looks at him. “Really?”

“Mmhm. I worked in the DA’s office in Brooklyn.”

“So you were one of the good guys, that’s a relief.” Sonny teases him. “How’d you go from that to teaching preschoolers about animals?”

“It just got to be too much,” Rafael is focused on his bowl, his spoon dragging through the melting salted caramel ice cream. “There are so many lies in criminal cases. Lying suspects, lying witnesses, lying jury members. If I’d met you then, I probably would have convinced myself you were lying about everything too.”

He looks fondly at Rosie. “Kids though, they don’t lie like adults do. If I have to hear tall tales, I’d much rather know about the fish that lives in Roisin’s bathtub than how nobody saw anything in a crowded park in the middle of the day.”

“I know what you mean,” Sonny says. “I go to work every day and the stuff I hear there…it’s like, all the things you think are true are lies, and all the things you want to believe must be lies turn out to be true and all you see is how awful people can be to each other.”

Rafael looks at Sonny, and there is a gleam of something in his eyes. It may be wishful thinking on Sonny’s part, but he thinks it looks like interest.

“Are you – “ Sonny fidgets with his napkin, balling it up and smoothing out the wrinkles. “Did you ever think what you were looking for, in a soul mate? I mean, am I – well, you know?” He isn’t sure what he’s trying to say.

“If I’m being honest, I never gave much thought to it.” Rafael says, and then stops. “I guess I don’t need that preface, do I?”

He smiles at Sonny, and this time it is a small thing, a shy raise of one corner of his mouth.

“If you’re asking are you what I pictured when I did envision my soulmate, no, you’re not.”

Sonny’s heart sinks. He knows some people have platonic soulmates, but he’s a closet romantic, and he’s always hoped his soulmate would be someone he could fall in love with, and who would love him in return.

Rafael rests his hand lightly on top of Sonny’s, stopping him in the middle of tearing up his napkin. He peeks up at him, and Rafael’s smile is bigger now. His eyes are light green in the fluorescent light of the shop, but this time Sonny can see that it isn’t wishful thinking, that is absolutely interest twinkling in Rafael’s eyes.

“You’re not what I imagined at all,” Rafael repeats. “You’re so much better.”


End file.
